Family Programs Open Studio: C. Spencer YehNov 14, 2017

This October, artist, improviser and composer, C. Spencer Yeh collaborated with Family Programs for a special large-scale Open Studio event in response to Calder: Hypermobility. Yeh was one of a series of contemporary artists invited by The Whitney to create new work in dialogue with Calder. The evening before Open Studio, Yeh presented two audiovisual works that emulated the movement of the overlapping shapes and forms in Calder’s sculptures.

For the Open Studio event, Yeh invited families to experiment with composition by overlapping drawings made on clear sheets of plastic and projecting them onto the walls of the Hess Theater. Participants layered their drawings with colorful cut-outs, and then created photographs and videos of the projected creations.

Billie Rae Vinson, Senior Coordinator of Family Programs remarked: “It was amazing to see parents’ and kids’ artworks come together on the projector screens. Watching the kids playing in the lights of the projectors and interacting with the shapes and colors as their parents moved them around on the screens seemed to embody the celebration of movement present in both Yeh and Calder’s work.”

By Elena Ketelsen González, Assistant to Family Programs

A participant creates a drawing on a sheet of clear plastic. Photograph by Filip Wolak

Adults and kids overlap their drawings. Photograph by Filip Wolak

Experimenting with shape and color on the projector. Photograph with Filip Wolak

A family works together. Photograph by Filip Wolak

A family uses their drawings to tell a story. Photograph by Filip Wolak

A kid tests out their compositions. Photograph by Filip Wolak

Becoming part of the art. Photograph by Filip Wolak

C. Spencer Yeh chats with participants about the project. Photograph by Filip Wolak

C. Spencer Yeh chats with participants about the project. Photgraph by Filip Wolak